Fixing a Light Problem | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 電気がつきません。

   The light does not work.

   電気

   the light

   つきません

   does not turn on

   More detail

   電気 means “light” here, as established by the fixed translation. The same word can also mean “electricity” in other contexts, so its meaning is determined by what it refers to in the sentence. In Japanese, a noun can be followed by が to mark what has the described state or action: 電気が is “the light” as the thing concerned. つきません is the polite negative nonpast form of つく. In this use, つく means that a light turns on or is lit; つきません therefore means “does not turn on” or “is not on.” The negative ending ません is polite and nonpast, and it can describe a present condition as well as a usual or expected event. For comparison, つきます means “turns on/is on” in the polite nonpast form, while つきません is its negative. The pattern N が つきません can be reused for a light or another device that does not turn on, when つく is appropriate for that item. Example: ランプがつきません。 — “The lamp does not turn on.” Together, 電気が identifies the light as the affected thing, and つきません states politely that it does not turn on. The whole utterance means “The light does not work.”

2. スイッチを確認しましたか。

   Did you check the switch?

   スイッチ

   switch

   確認しましたか

   did you check?

   More detail

   スイッチ is the noun “switch.” It is written in katakana, commonly used for an electrical switch. In this sentence, を marks it as the object of the checking action: スイッチを means “the switch” as the thing checked. 確認しましたか comes from 確認する, “to check” or “confirm.” 確認しました is its polite past form: 確認する → 確認しました. The final か turns the polite statement into a question, so 確認しましたか asks whether the checking was done. Japanese often leaves the subject unstated; here, the fixed translation identifies the subject as “you.” Together, スイッチを確認しましたか。 means “Did you check the switch?” The pattern Nを確認しましたか。 can be reused to ask politely whether someone checked or confirmed a noun: 予約を確認しましたか。 means “Did you check the reservation?”

3. 確認しましたが、まだつきません。

   I checked it, and it still does not work.

   確認しました

   checked; confirmed

   まだ

   still

   つきません

   does not turn on; does not work

   More detail

   確認しました comes from 確認する, “to check” or “to confirm.” しました is its polite past form: する → しました. Here it reports that the speaker checked the relevant item, matching “I checked it.” The polite non-past counterpart is 確認します (“I will check” or “I check,” depending on context). まだ means “still” here. Together with a negative expression, it indicates that the situation has continued unchanged. For example, まだ来ません means “They still haven’t come.” つきません is the polite negative non-past form of つく. In this context, つく means that a light or electrical device turns on or comes on, so つきません means “does not turn on.” The non-past negative form describes the current situation here; it is not a claim about a particular future event. The related positive forms are つきます (“turns on” / “will turn on”) and つきました (“turned on” / “came on”). The pattern まだ + negative form gives “still does not …” here: まだつきません means “it still does not turn on.” が after 確認しました connects the two clauses with a contrast such as “but.” Thus 確認しましたが、まだつきません。 assembles as “I checked it, but it still does not work.”

4. 電球が古いのかもしれません。

   Maybe the bulb is old.

   電球

   light bulb

   古い

   old

   かもしれません

   may be; maybe

   More detail

   電球 means “light bulb” here. It is a noun. The particle が after it marks the noun as the subject of the description that follows. 古い means “old” here. It is an い-adjective, and this is its plain, non-past form used as a predicate: 古い = “is old.” Useful forms are 古かった (“was old”) and 古くない (“is not old”). For example, この電球は古いです。 means “This light bulb is old.” かもしれません expresses possibility politely: “may be” or “perhaps.” In this sentence, の connects the preceding proposition to this possibility expression, giving 古いのかもしれません = “may be old” or “perhaps it is old.” The pattern plain clause + かもしれません is reusable; for example, 明日は雨かもしれません。 means “It may rain tomorrow.” Together, 電球が identifies the light bulb as the subject, 古い describes it as old, and のかもしれません marks that description as uncertain. The whole utterance means: “Maybe the bulb is old.”

5. 今は部屋が暗すぎます。

   The room is too dark now.

   今は

   now

   部屋

   room

   暗すぎます

   too dark

   More detail

   今は means “now” with は marking the time as the topic: “as for now.” It sets the time frame for the statement, rather than asserting a quantity or duration. Example: 今は大丈夫です。 — “It is okay now.” 部屋 is the noun “room.” Its form does not mark number here, so it can refer to one room or more than one when context supplies that information. In this sentence, が marks 部屋 as the subject of the description. Example: 部屋が広いです。 — “The room is spacious.” 暗すぎます means “is too dark.” Its useful base form is 暗い “dark.” For an い-adjective, remove the final い and add すぎる: 暗い → 暗すぎる “be too dark”; the polite nonpast form is 暗すぎます. Here, すぎる shows that the degree of darkness exceeds what is suitable. Example: この部屋は暗すぎます。 — “This room is too dark.” Together, 今は sets the time, 部屋が identifies the room as the subject, and 暗すぎます describes its excessive darkness. The complete meaning is “The room is too dark now.”

6. 小さいランプを持って来られます。

   I can bring a small lamp.

   小さい

   small

   ランプ

   lamp

   持って来られます

   can bring

   More detail

   小さい means “small” here and directly describes ランプ. It is an i-adjective: the same basic form can be used before a noun, as in 小さいランプ (“a small lamp”), while 小さく is the adverbial form, as in 小さく作る (“make [something] small”). ランプ is the noun “lamp.” The particle を marks the lamp as the object of the action, so the phrase identifies what is brought. 持って来られます expresses “can bring” in this sentence. 持って来る is the compound verb “bring,” literally combining “hold/carry” (持つ) with “come” (来る). Its potential form is 持って来られる, “be able to bring,” and the polite nonpast ending ます gives 持って来られます. Here the fixed translation establishes the potential meaning “can,” rather than a passive interpretation. The nonpast form can describe present ability or a future action, depending on context. Together, 小さいランプを (“a small lamp” as the object) and 持って来られます (“can bring”) produce: “I can bring a small lamp.”

7. あとで電球を交換したほうがいいです。

   We should change the bulb later.

   あとで

   later

   電球

   bulb

   交換したほうがいいです

   should change

   More detail

   あとで means “later” here. It is a time expression that can be placed before the action it modifies. Example: あとで電話します。 — “I’ll call later.” 電球 means “light bulb.” It is a noun; in this sentence, を marks it as the object of the replacement action. The word ランプ in the surrounding context means “lamp,” whereas 電球 specifically identifies the bulb. 交換したほうがいいです expresses that doing the action is advisable: “it is better to change [it]” or, in this translation, “we should change [it].” The base verb is 交換する (“to replace/change”). In this recommendation pattern, its plain past form 交換した appears before ほうがいいです; the past-looking form is part of the pattern and does not by itself say that the replacement already happened. A reusable pattern is V-たほうがいいです — “it is better to V.” Example: 早く寝たほうがいいです。 — “You should go to bed early.” Together, 電球を交換したほうがいいです means “it is better to change the bulb,” with the person responsible for the action understood from context rather than stated in the utterance. Adding あとで places that recommended action later in time, producing the whole meaning: “We should change the bulb later.”

8. 電球を交換するまで、そのランプを使ってください。

   Use the lamp until we replace it.

   電球

   light bulb

   交換する

   replace; exchange

   まで

   until

   その

   that; the aforementioned

   ランプ

   lamp

   使ってください

   please use

   More detail

   電球 means “light bulb.” It is a noun, and を marks it as the object of the following action: the bulb is what will be replaced. Example: 電球を買います。— “I will buy a light bulb.” 交換する means “to replace” here. Its dictionary form is 交換する; the する part makes the noun 交換 (“exchange/replacement”) into a verb. Useful forms include 交換します (“replace,” polite) and 交換した (“replaced”). In this sentence, the dictionary form appears before まで to name the action whose completion sets the time boundary. まで marks the endpoint of a period. With a clause before it, the pattern ...まで means “until ...”: 電球を交換するまで means “until [someone] replaces the light bulb.” The subject of 交換する is not stated in the Japanese sentence; the fixed translation identifies the intended actor as “we.” その is a demonstrative placed before a noun. It means “that” or, in this context, “the aforementioned,” and it does not itself identify the noun’s grammatical number. そのランプ therefore means “that/the lamp” as a noun phrase. ランプ means “lamp.” It is a noun written in katakana. Together with その, it is the object of 使ってください, while 電球 is the object of 交換する. 使ってください means “please use.” The base verb is 使う (“use”); its て form is 使って, followed by ください to make a polite request. This form requests that the listener use the lamp. The て form here is not the past form; it connects the verb to the request expression. The structure is 電球を交換するまで (“until we replace the light bulb”) + そのランプを使ってください (“please use that/the lamp”). Thus the complete utterance means “Use the lamp until we replace it.” The prior context supports the same replacement plan, while the Japanese leaves the subject of 交換する unspoken.